Gamer. Confident. Good communicator. Those are some of the ways Notre Dame teammates described Ian Book.

The redshirt freshman quarterback could soon add "starter" to the list.

Brandon Wimbush is recovering from a right foot injury, and his status for Saturday's game at North Carolina will be a game-day decision.

If Wimbush can't go, Book would be in line to make his first career start for the No. 21 Irish (4-1).

"(Book is) very accurate with the football," coach Brian Kelly said Thursday. "He's got a good grasp of the offense, and he elevates the play of the guys around him. They all know he's a really good quarterback.

"In the spring game, he was really effective moving his squad. Every time he's gotten the chance to scrimmage with his unit, he's been effective moving the ball. He's had a good week."

Kelly said Wimbush took some reps in practice Thursday.

"(Wimbush) did some good things," Kelly said. "We'll go day to day and make the decision on game day.

"He's in a good place. We have two more days. He'll get some more rehab. He's where we would hope he would be, and we expect more progress to be made over the next couple of days."

Teammates are certain if Book is needed Saturday, he'll be ready.

"He slings the ball around all over the field," left tackle Mike McGlinchey said. "He takes a lot of pride in knowing his responsibilities and has worked very hard with (quarterbacks) coach Tommy Rees, (offensive coordinator Chip) Long and Coach Kelly this week, and weeks prior, to be able to step up when his time comes.

"If it is the case that Ian is the starter on Saturday, we're going to have no problems and he's going to lead us in the same ways Brandon would. Ian is here for a reason. He's at the University of Notre Dame to play quarterback. He's going to do a great job for us if his name is called."

Coming out of El Dorado Hills, Calif., the 6-foot, 208-pound Book was the No. 20 pro-style quarterback in the Class of 2016, according to 247Sports.com's composite rankings. He has appeared in four games as Wimbush's backup this season, completing 3 of 8 passes for 51 yards and rushing for 40 yards on five attempts.

"His communication with the offensive line has been very good," left guard Quenton Nelson said.

Running back Josh Adams liked what he saw out of Book this week.

"He just went out there and tried to be as comfortable as he could be," Adams said. "As his teammates, we've got to try to make it easy for the guy in that position."

Book, who wasn't made available to media this week, expressed confidence when meeting with reporters after the spring game.

"If something were to happen as the next man in, I think I would be able to do a good job," he said at the time.